Palmolive Baby Dish Detergent

Have you been looking for the best and safest ways to clean your baby bottles? Like many new and/or expecting mommies, you'll find every way in the world to avoid any and all germs. So I happen to come across several blogs and forums where mommies highly recommend using Palmolive's Baby Dish Detergent. The catch here is, it's not easy to find for whatever reason. A 20oz. bottle sells from $30-$60 on eBay and Amazon. You're probably wondering what's so great about this particular detergent. Several things: it doesn't contain "unnecessary ingredients," is baby safe, easily removes residual breast milk and formula, and can be used for virtually anything a baby would put in his/her mouth (i.e. binkies, toys, etc.). 

You're probably thinking, I spent a crazy amount of money to get my hands on this product. Guess what, I didn't. After doing some research I found 10oz. bottles at my local Wal-Mart for only $2.50. Yes, $2.50! I was so happy to find them that I purchased about four bottles, but luckily the store doesn't run out the product very often so it's literally easy for me to get to. That sucks for a lot of other mommies who wish to buy the product without going broke. I suggest visiting your local Wal-Mart and even Bed Bath & Beyond, they also sell the product for a reasonable price. Don't worry if you can't find this locally. There are plenty other alternatives like buying BabyGanics and other easy to find brands and/or make your own detergent. I plan to do the latter and reuse the Palmolive bottles. Soon I will post a recipe for homemade baby detergent, once I find and test one that is the best and basically chemical-free. 

10oz. Palmolive Baby Dish Detergent

Feeding bottles drying after washing in Palmolive Baby Dish Detergent

While I haven't used the dish detergent to remove breast milk (I'm actually three days pass my due date...ugh!), I have used it to clean bottles, pacifiers, etc. beforehand. I enjoy how gentle the product seems to be as well as its gentle scent. Many mommies complained how regular dish detergent leave a nasty taste in the nipples and bottles to the point where their babies reject the bottle. With this particular product, the scent does not linger. To clean the bottles, I simply place all the components in a large pot with warm soapy water, let it sit for 10 minutes, rinse, and place it in my new Munchkin Electric Sterilizer (a review coming soon!).

Medela Pump In Style Advanced Double Breastpump: 100% Insurance Covered!

Like most people, I can't stand to see my medical deductions on my pay stub. Every two weeks, I wonder why in the world does medical insurance have to be so expensive?! Well, it has finally paid off, at least for me. Well not paid off, but I can say I'm grateful to have medical insurance and the one reason why (among other things) is that my insurance covers breast pumps 100%. Amazing right?

I plan to use the pump when or if I cannot endure the pain of breastfeeding and because I will more than likely drink occasionally. This will give me some liberty to drink occasionally while also storing milk that does not contain any alcohol. (I'm sure people will judge women who do this, but I suggest researching the topic before doing so and/or to get a life...). 

For months, I watched the prices of breast pumps fluctuate. Most ranging in price from $200 -$300. Somehow one night I came across a review of the Medela brand stating that breast pumps are now covered by "most" insurances, which of course was news to me, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, which was signed in 2010. You can find more information on the act @ www.hhs.gov/healthcare/rights/index.html.

After calling my insurance company, it was confirmed -my insurance not only covers breast pumps but lactation classes as well! Not to mention, I do not have the best of insurance...but I'll save that subject for another blog. Many mommies rave over Medela, which offers a variety of versions -some with tote bags and additional accessories like storage bottles, etc. My insurance, however, only covered the "starter kit" 100% but would pay a percentage if I wanted a version that had added accessories. Since I have plenty of tote bags, breast milk storage bags, etc. I decided the starter kit to be best for my needs.The kit comes with:

• 2 breastshields
• 2 connectors
• 2 valves and membranes
• 2 BPA free 5oz. storage bottles with lids  (and one nipple) 
• 2 tubing
• 1 power adaptor
• 1 faceplate

Medela Pump In Style Advanced Double Breastpump

Tonight, I actually purchased (6) additional Medela 5oz. storage containers at Amazon for $14.99 simply to have additional on hand. Although, I'm using the Medela pump and storage bottles, I plan to pour the milk from the storage bottles into the Avent bottles, which I also blogged about recently.

After using the product I plan to update this post with my experience. Again, I've heard nothing but great things about Medela pumps. I suggest any mother who plans to breastfeed to research the possibility of receiving one covered by your insurance. 

Avent Baby Bottles

My boyfriend and I are expecting our 1st baby (a boy) this month -actually today is my due date! Being first-time parents, especially a first-time mommy, it's a bit confusing to figure out which brands or products to chose from. Sometimes I would get advice from women who seem to hang out in the baby aisles at stores or remember which products my big sister had the most success with when she had her first child, but really most people tend to recommend products that are cost-efficient without consideration to quality. I'd say, if you can afford it why not get something that has two thumbs up in quality, price, and durability. With that said, we decided on Phillips Avent feeding bottles.

Phillips Avent Feeding Bottles (from left to right): 9oz. Special Blue Monkey Edition, 9oz. Special Elephant Edition, 4oz. blue, and 4oz. clear

Unlike many other brands, Avent doesn't come in a variety of pretty colors (think of your cutie pastel yellow, green, orange, etc.). Instead, Avent has special editions with girl and boy designs even translucent blue and pink colors as well. What gravitated us to Avent was simply the nipple as I plan to breastfeed and pump. Avent has two nipple versions, "natural" and "classic." Those in the above picture are "natural" and supposed to avoid nipple confusion and help babies latch to both their mother's nipple and the synthetic bottle nipple that resembles a natural breast; while the "classic" is the opposite. Since I also have to return to work and, therefore, would need to pump, this is an additional benefit. There are also read great reviews on this product and we like the bottles' design, which is comfy for both adults and babies to hold. 

You can find these anywhere, including Wal-Mart, Target, Diapers.com, BabiesrUs, etc. Beware, do your research first because retailers vary in price. For example, I purchased the 9oz. Blue Monkey edition for $32.99 at BabiesrUs (for three bottles) a few months ago. Yesterday, I found the 9oz. Elephant edition at Wal-Mart for only $20.99 at the same quantity, big price difference right? Also, some editions are exclusive to the retailer, which may be the reason for the price different but BabiesrUs has always been pricier than most retailers and I definitely do not plan to shop there anymore.

I'm hoping my son would take to these bottles well, as I know some babies can have their own preference at times! :)